


Fishcakes

by misura



Category: Kitchen Confidential
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-05
Updated: 2013-02-09
Packaged: 2017-12-03 09:07:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 854
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/696615
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/misura/pseuds/misura
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Teddy and Seth and the things they do.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. fishcake number one

"Know why Asian people don't bet?" Teddy asks - and he knows he's stereotyping, and that if anyone else except Seth would be doing this, he'd be having one of his knives out by now.

(As it happens, he does have one of his knives out. He's Asian; he can cut a fish and argue at the same time.)

"Okay, time out." Seth, being white, can only focus on one thing at a time. It's annoying, often, endearing, occasionally. Gratifying, rarely, when the thing Seth focuses on is, for example, Teddy's cock.

Teddy would like to think that last thing is mostly a Seth thing, rather than a generic white guy thing, but he's never met anyone white he liked quite enough to try and find out for sure - excepting, perhaps, Jack, and Teddy's entirely too much of a genius to ever want to get sucked into the swamp that is Jack Bourdain's soapy lovelife.

"Asian people don't bet? I've seen the movies, my friend. Miyong, and all that stuff."

"Mah-Jong," Teddy says, because he can't help himself.

"No, that's that game I play on my cellphone. You know, with all the funny looking tiles. Besides, everybody gambles. It's human nature."

Teddy considers. "You think so?" Mostly, he considers the number of times he'd lent Seth money, and the odds he's ever going to be getting even a tenth of it back.

He doesn't think it affects their relationship in any way. It's not as if he's paying Seth for sex or something - most of the time, Seth doesn't even seem to remember that he owes Teddy any money.

Of course, if he did, Teddy might be a good bit more reluctant to let him borrow any more. Kind of funny, when you put it like that, but there you are. It works because it works; it doesn't have to make sense.

"Absolutely," Seth says. "I mean, it's the thrill. The excitement. Just letting it ride."

"Losing your month's salary."

Seth scowls. "You got to take a risk every now and then, man. Live a little."

"Well, I'm dating you. That's a pretty big risk."

Seth takes the bait. Of course he does. Seth always takes the bait. "What? Why? How is dating _me_ a 'pretty big risk'? I'm a great guy!"

Teddy points his knife. "White." Directs it at himself (with the blunt edge, of course). "Asian. Any member of my family sees me walking around with some skinny white guy, my rep's toast."

"Oh, now you're just exaggerating," Seth says. What he _doesn't_ say is that Teddy hardly ever talks to his family, anyway, or that it's been years since he sat down for a meal with his parents.

The words are there all the same, of course, but Teddy appreciates Seth having the tact not to force him to acknowledge them out loud.

"I never exaggerate. I'm Asian."

"And you don't gamble because ... ?"

"I know how math works. That, and I'm not an idiot."

Seth huffs. "Fine. So can I borrow a twenty?"


	2. fishcake number two

They'll flirt in the kitchen, because nobody can tell the difference between that and their usual banter - which might indicate something Seth would be quite comfortable admitting to, but which he knows Teddy might have some trouble with.

(Seth is a patissier; being a romantic is almost part of his job description. Teddy's a fish guy, though; it's different for him. It's important to be sensitive about these things.)

They'll tease each other in the kitchen, a bit, sometimes. Seth isn't really much of a teaser - when Teddy says he is, it's only because he's too much of a fish guy to see the difference between making a romantic gesture, like showing off one's new Hello Kitty! underwear, and taking off pieces of clothing to indicate a desire for sex.

Teddy's got a reputation as a crazy Asian to live up to (or down to, Seth grumbles sometimes, because there's a bad, bad part of him that likes to wind Teddy up). He'll touch; he'll grab; he'll grope - and everyone will think it's hilarious. (Well, everyone except Seth, because there are some physical states in which a man simply can't properly concentrate on producing a perfect little raisin tarte.)

They never, ever kiss in the kitchen. Never.

It's not that they worry about getting caught (although Seth knows Teddy does) - it's just that, well. They did try, once. A couple of months ago.

_"You taste like sugar,"_ Teddy'd said, his expression making it clear it wasn't the slightly sickly sweet praise it might have been.

_"You taste like fish,"_ Seth had said, by way of a come-back. It wasn't entirely true, but then, Teddy's complaint wasn't entirely true, either. Cooking and eating rarely went together in the kitchen.

And that had been that, more or less.

(They brush their teeth together, at whichever apartment ends up being considered 'the closest' that night, and give each other what Teddy calls a 'breath check' and what Seth knows to be a 'good night kiss', because on most nights after work, they're both too worn out to do anything more than that.)


End file.
